1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to a thin-film layer structure and a method for manufacturing the thin-film layer structure on a substrate.
2. Description of the Related Art
At present, methods for manufacturing a thin-film layer structure on a substrate include a photolithographic method and an ink-jet method.
The photolithographic method is described as below: applying a photo-resist layer on a substrate; exposing the photo-resist layer using a photo mask with a predetermined pattern and developing the exposed photo-resist layer to form a predetermined thin-film layer structure. Thus a large part of the photo-resist material is wasted and the efficiency is low. This increases costs.
The ink-jet method uses an ink-jet device with a number of nozzles for depositing ink into a predetermined position on a substrate structure. A thin-film layer structure is formed after solidifying the ink. Generally, since an area of the substrate structure is larger than a coverage area of the nozzles, the nozzles of the ink-jet device need to move in a grid pattern relative to the substrate structure to finish depositing the ink on the substrate structure.
In a conventional thin-film layer structure formed by the ink-jet method, thin-film layers made of same material in a same row are deposited by a same nozzle, and thicknesses of the such thin-film layers are essentially identical. Therefore, uniformity of the thin-film layers of the same material in each row is high. However, the thin-film layers made of same material in different row are deposited by different nozzles such that thicknesses of the such thin-film layers are different. Therefore, non-uniformities of the thin-film layers between different rows are easily identified by a test operator when light passes therethrough, and linear Mura defects are formed.
What is needed, therefore, is a thin-film layer structure with few or no Mura defects and a method for manufacturing the same.